Thighs and lows

Face it, all women have cellulite - even movie stars. So stop worrying, it's not as if men even notice Having spent the past two weeks stuffing themselves, it is not surprising that this is the time of year when most women start worrying about their wobbly bits. And, more specifically, the most dreaded wobble of all: cellulite. The paparazzi are obsessed with lumpy female thighs. Barely a month goes by without the tabloids and gossip magazines printing another spot-the-cellulite shot, against which no woman, however glamorous, is immune. The first victim was Princess Diana, leaving the gym in her cycling shorts. Then Pamela Anderson unwittingly revealed her "orange-peel" skin as she clambered into a convertible on the set of Baywatch. More recently, Naomi Campbell's dimpled buttocks, snapped on a beach by a paparazzo, have received acres of coverage, along with Jerry Hall's bumpy thighs. Finally, in November, it was Nicole Kidman's turn for public humiliation. She might have been winning plaudits for her acting, but what was considered more interesting was the state of her upper thighs when squashed against a chair seat. The question is, who wants to see these pictures? Not men, apparently: according to a recent multiple-choice survey in a women's magazine, many men think that cellulite is an anti-ageing ingredient in face cream. Those who were able to identify it admitted that they only knew what it was because their partners went on about it all the time. "Women may comment on other women's thighs, but if you're sitting on a beach, a man is far more likely to be looking at women's breasts than their cellulite," says Rachael Oakes-Ash, the author of Good Girls Do Swallow (Mainstream Pounds 7.99), a book about eating disorders and women's body image. Women don't enjoy gloating over these candid camera shots, either. The picture of Kidman provoked more expressions of outrage and murmurs of sympathy than titters of glee among my acquaintances. After all, Kidman's legs are fabulous enough to have allowed her to play an utterly convincing cancan dancer. So what depressing message does this convey about the state of the average woman's pins? The term cellulite was coined in the 1920s by French doctors to describe the puckered skin that many women develop on their thighs, bottom and stomach. But it was a book by the (again) French beauty therapist Nicole Ronsard - Cellulite: Those Lumps, Bumps and Bulges You Couldn't Lose Before - that really brought the phenomenon to mainstream public attention. Published in America in 1973, it quickly became an international bestseller. Women started to obsess - and the beauty market started to flood with "cures". "Cellulite only became a concern for women when marketing people and advertisers realized that, by highlighting something that women hated about their bodies and felt insecure about, they could cash in with anti-cellulite products," says Oakes-Ash. "Nowadays, what woman doesn't apologize to her girlfriends for her cellulite when in a changing room at the gym, or stripping off at the beach? And what cosmetic mogul or diet guru's bank account doesn't benefit?" Thankfully, it seems that we may have got tired of the obsession. According to Claudia Lucas, the head beauty buyer at Selfridges, which has one of the biggest beauty halls in the country, sales of anti-cellulite creams, gels, lotions and potions are not what they used to be. "There has been a dramatic decline in sales and launches of anti-cellulite products over the past five years." she says. "We used to have trouble keeping the shelves stocked with certain anti-cellulite and 'inch-loss' products, but, these days, the must-have body products are exfoliators, self-tans and ranges that are designed to have a holistic, mood-enhancing fragrance and effect." Which makes sense: at least such treatments have a noticeable effect. "I have tried just about every cellulite-busting treatment there is - from expensive creams and lotions to body wraps, courses of astronomically expensive massage, even injections by one of the top 'cellulite doctors' in the country - and let me tell you, nothing works," says Cherry Maslen, a consumer journalist and self-confessed former cellulite obsessive. "The only things that improve the look of cellulite are keeping your weight down, regular exercise and candlelight." Indeed, it's often lighting, not to mention posture, that is the real culprit in those awful "off-guard" celebrity-cellulite shots. At the recent 2002 spring/ summer shows in Milan, fashion editors gasped when some of the world's top models (many of whom are still in their teens) wobbled with dimples on Exte's lit-from-below blue catwalk. Yet a day or so later, under Versace's more flattering lights, their cellulite had completely disappeared. Jerry Hall had no visible cellulite standing naked on the stage as Mrs Robinson in The Graduate, but "developed" puckered thighs a few days later when paddling in a foot of water in bright sunlight with her hands pushing her buttocks southwards. And those who saw Nicole Kidman strip naked in The Blue Room at the Donmar Warehouse also testify that, when not slouching in a chair with a paparazzo's camera up her skirt, the Aussie's skin is as smooth as alabaster. So, if you're concerned about the wobbly backs of your thighs, it might be an idea to try hitting the dimmer switch before hitting the chemist's shelves.n THE BOTTOM LINE Despite claims that cellulite is a "special" type of fatty tissue or the result of "trapped toxins", tests always show that the fat accumulated around women's thighs and buttocks is no different from the fat found on any other part of the body. Unfortunately, women do carry more fat on their bodies than men, and it is usually stored around the bottom, hips and thighs. What causes the dimpled, puckered effect is the structure of the skin in these areas, which differs slightly in men and women and also varies from person to person. Smokers have worse cellulite than non-smokers, probably because smoking adversely affects the elasticity of the skin. Although liposculpture may reduce the appearance of cellulite, as with all cosmetic-surgery techniques, there are risks, and the final outcome is uncertain. A beauty treatment called Endermologie, which uses a powerful handheld massage tool, has been given approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for its ability to reduce cellulite - but it is expensive, time-consuming and temporary. Without a doubt, the best way to improve the look of your buttocks, hips and thighs is to maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly.